No speed in resolving slow connections

Residents living in a new housing development in Gorebridge are becoming increasingly frustrated by their slow broadband speeds.

People living on the new Krikhill Rise and Dewar Park development, next to the recently opened Gore Glen Primary School, were already angry that they had slow internet speeds despite a new broadband cabinet appearing there last December.

In September Scottish Government agency Digital Scotland told the Advertiser that the roll-out was “due to go live in the next few weeks”, but that never materialised.

Electrician Chris Reilly (27), who lives at Whitehouse Court, revealed that residents have been left frustrated after being given this false hope.

He said: “When we all got informed of this article we had some hope of progress.

“It’s terrible we have just all been fed a pack of lies and just want to know when this will go live. We are sick of this.

“I was in contact with BT Openreach last year and I got spun a story that it would be here roughly when the new school opened. Obviously that has passed now. Nothing has happened since the article in the Advertiser.

“I have contacted Openreach and Digital Scotland and nobody really wants to say who is dealing with it.

“Obviously the ‘few weeks’ has long gone and we have had no news at all.

“And nobody has any answers as to why. Nobody seems to want to say anything about it.”

Now residents have been promised that cabinet 11 will be turned on in the New Year.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “This project is part of the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband roll-out. Due to the scale of the project and the civil engineering work involved, some dates may change for a variety of reasons.

“Openreach, BT’s local network business, is working with the site developer Persimmon Homes to install a power supply for the new cabinet.

“We currently expect this cabinet to be operational early in the New Year. Progress updates can be viewed at www.scotlandsuperfast.com ”

Local resident James Hogg, who originally contacted the Advertiser in September about cabinet 11, is cautiously optimistic about the news.

He said: “It’s great to see that finally happening. I think that will be good news for all the residents in the estate.

“However, I will believe it when I see it. But it is very positive news, if they stick to it.”